These days it is not uncommon for children to grow up in a single-mother household with little or no contact from their fathers. I was one of those children. When I was younger I never understood why my dad didn’t want me or why he would take part in conceiving me if he didn’t even care to know who I was. Every year I waited for a phone call, birthday wishes, or a Christmas card, and sadly got nothing.

Being raised by a single mother is said to be a cause of some of our country’s most serious social problems. In Quassan T. Castros article, My Father, No Show, he tells us how curious he was about who his absent father is. When Castro gets in contact with his father and explains to him the circumstances under which he was conceived he realizes that his dad was promiscuous and not willing to make an effort to get to know him. He was angry that his father didn’t accept him but didn’t let that hold him back from “spiritual growth”.

All Castro wanted as a child is to have his father in his life. In the article he mentions that his mother was strong enough to be both mother and father but as he got closer to adulthood he became more curious. Children of absent fathers tend to feel like they are missing out on something. The man in the family represents strength, teaches leadership, and shows their children many life lessons. Not having a father around can leave many questions unanswered.

In some communities it has become acceptable for men to father children and take no responsibility for them. Men sometimes have legitimate reasons for not being around but not often enough. Young boys that have children are lead to believe they don’t have to take care of them sometimes by media and other times by the opinions of others. Because they are not the one that has to carry the baby and give birth to it they feel like their off the hook. In reality, it does not work that way.

Most men that choose to not take care of their children or that don’t have...

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...Census Bureau, 36.3% of children are living absent of their biological fathers. Beginning in 1960 with 8% of children living without their biological father, that percentage has continued to increase. The issue of absentfathers has raised many questions as to what effects this has on individuals and society. Absentfathers (a term that can consist of many different things) can have a profound effect on the development of their daughter's relationships, especially when it comes to their relationships with other men. While the research on this topic may be lacking, what is out there is clear that fathers do play an important role in their development. Women can face things such as becoming sexually promiscuous, low self-esteem, trust issues, or other difficulties with sustaining relationships (Krohn& Bogan, 599). While there is some research that negates the effect an absentfather has, such as having an abusive father or lesbian couples as parents the research for this field continues to grow and even though the research on these effects may be limited, the amount continues to increase with promise.
A father can be absent in many different ways. An absentfather is defined as "those who do not interact with their children on a regular basis and consequently do...

...Fathers are unique in that they provide something different and special from what mothers provide. Today, in America one out of every three children is living in a home without his or her father. That means that one out of three children in America will go to bed tonight without getting a goodnight hug and kiss from there daddy. It is estimated that 60 percent of children that were born in the 1990s will live a portion of their childhoods in a home without afather figure. Some people believe that there is no real significances to having a father be present in a child’s life. However, research and personal experience shows differently. When a father is absent in a child’s life, the child suffers emotionally, and behaviorally. Kids that grow up without a father figure are more likely to get involved with drugs, sexual encounters, and crime. It is important to stress that the absence of any parent places a void and a hole in a child's life forever.
As young children, the fact that there is not a father figure may be overlook, but as they grow older they will began to sense the fragmented family relationship. Most often children will be able to feel the incompleteness of not having a father,
which in an effort to fill the emptiness, children often try to fill this void with drugs. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states,...

...of the father, a male figure in a child’s life is a very crucial role that has been diminishing over the years. An absentfather can be defined in two ways; the father is physically not present, or the father is physically present, but emotionally present. To an adolescent, a father is an idolized figure, someone they look up to (Feud, 1921), thus when such a figure is an absent one, it can and will negatively affect a child’s development. Many of the problems we face in society today, such as crime and delinquency, poor academic achievement, divorce, drug use, early pregnancy and sexual activity can be attributed to fathers being absent during adolescent development (Popenoe, 1996; Whitehead, 1993). The percentage of adolescents growing up fatherless has risen from 17% to 36% in just three decades between 1960 and 1990 (Popenoe, 1996). Dr. Popenoe estimates this number will increase to approximately 50% by the turn of the century (Popenoe, 1996). The US Census Bureau reported out of population of 24 million children, 1 out 3 live in a home without a father (US Census Bureau, 2009).
The role of a father is more than just another parent at home (Popenoe, 1996). Having a father, the male biological parent in a child’s life is important because it brings a different type of parenting that cannot be replicated...

...Tia Gibson
English 1010
May 2, 2011
Father Absenteeism in the Lives of African Americans
The absence of a father in an African-American family is very common today. Father absenteeism dates back to early 1900s. Researchers Mandara, Murray and Joyner points out “single mothers have headed a significant percentage of African American families since the 1960s…” (qtd. in Tucker and Mitchell-Kernan 209). According to a 2003 survey, researchers declare that 69 % of black students live without their father compared to other ethnic groups (DeBell 427). There are a few reasons a child is raised in a single mother household. Most times couples who have conceived children do not remain in a relationship. Married couples may have gotten divorced before the child becomes school age. Sometimes the biological father has died before the child is able to develop a relationship. Many will agree that a child will benefit more when there are both parents in the home to raise the child. Economic and emotional issues will arise in the latter life of a child, and the effects may negatively impact their relationships and their stability. The absenteeism of a father in the household of African-American families affects the mother’s ability to support, the child’s behavior and the child choosing a significant other in the future.
A mother’s stability of support is compromised when the father is...

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The Benefits of a Father Involvement in a Family
INTRODUCTION
The main purpose of this paper is to develop and understand the benefits of having a father present and involved in the home care for the children as well as for the wife and total overall caretaking of the home as a unit. It is one thing to have a father present for the wellbeing of the children and to give them different guidelines than with their mother however; it’s a different story when dealing with a father who is committed to providing and keeping the family unit together and moving forward. Many studies have been done and more are in the process and they show that there are multiple positive benefits from having a duel parent household with both parents acting to help. The benefits for children include positive cognitive, emotional and social development, while for the family as a whole it allows gender roles to be lowered with women in the workforce therefore sharing all household duties and increases the well-being of the couple and the family life (Allen, S.). It creates a more harmonious living situation for all involved which can lead to nothing but positive future outcomes for the family.
CHILD WELL-BEING
Cognitive Development
Infants and children of involved fathers have proven to have more positive benefits in their infant stage that continues through into their adult life...

...Culture, education level, and socioeconomic status affect the way parents approach raising their children. Based on current research as indicated in “why fathers really matter”, genes also play a significant role in how children turnout. In proximal parenting, the care giving is a closer physical connection to the infant. In distal parenting the care giving provides minimal physical contact. These two styles each have their own advantages and disadvantages. In my opinion, a fusion of both styles is necessary for the healthy development of a child
Culture is defined as the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group and it plays a crucial role in how parents raise their children. The modern western culture promotes individuality, and as a result, parents have a propensity to have a more distal style of parenting than a proximal one. It is my opinion that promoting individuality from a young age is somewhat necessary especially when we are living in a society where both parents have full time careers. In the United States, infants are more likely to be dropped off at daycare centers instead of staying at home with their mothers. According to “The developing person through the life span”, research indicates that only 20% of infants are cared for exclusively by their mothers in the first year in the United States, whereas the rate of mothers providing care for their infant is higher in other nations such as France,...

...FATHER ABSENCE AND ITS EFFECTS ON DAUGHTERS
Lisa Mancini Professor Briggs WRT 465 11 May 2010
Mancini 2
Table of Contents I. II. III. IV. V. VI. Abstract Introduction Definition of Father Absence Divorce and Father Absence Other Explanations of Father Absence Effects of Father Absence on Daughters a. Teenage Pregnancy b. Promiscuity c. Emotional Effects d. Poverty e. Education VII. VIII. IX. X. Pains ofFather Absence Definition of a Positive Father Figure Appendices Bibliography
Mancini 3
Abstract As the divorce rate in the United States climbs to nearly 50 percent, fathers seem to be disappearing from their daughters‟ lives. Research shows that girls and young women who have an unstable father figure are more liable to unplanned pregnancy, low-self esteem, high school and college drop-out, poverty, divorce and sexually promiscuous behavior. This thesis examines the research linking father absence to daughter problems.
Mancini 4
“I still didn't understand what was going on. I didn't know why he hadn't hugged me yet, why he didn't act the way all my other friends' fathers treated them. He was so cold to me. It took 2 nurses to hold me down so they could take the blood from my arm. I was crying hysterically. I was only 9 years old. I didn't know what a blood test for paternity was. I didn't even...

...my fault that my father wasn’t around? Was it my fault my family is struggling? My fault we can’t afford nicer things? While I would see the other kids getting picked up by their parents after school while I’m waiting on the school bus to take me home. At times it hurt, especially when I had to teach myself everything a father figure should have. Life without a father or in a single parent household has a burden on children, but it’s something that many children face in America today. It’s sometimes the reason why kids grow up and stray the wrong direction in life and then they grow up putting their children through the same thing they went through.
Being fatherless is actually something that a lot of children suffer with in America, and it’s a vicious cycle that continues to run rampant through communities, both bad and good. “One-third of American children are growing up, without their biological father, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In the past 50 years, the percentage of children who live with two married parents has dropped 22 points. During that same time, the number of babies born to unwed mothers jumped from 5 percent to 40 percent” (Stuart). It happens in many different ways, which include: one night stands, divorce, separation due to imprisonment or death, and etc. One situation that sticks out to me because it actually happened to me is the father walking out on his family, either...